9781422280188

Soldiers of the Colored Infantry in 1865.

great that the regular army had a limited impact on its outcome. More than four million men fought, but less than 100,000 were U.S. Army regulars. When the war ended, the Army actu- ally shrank in size, and by 1890 it was reduced to a force of only about 27,000 men. It could be expanded in times of crisis by the reserve army, called the National Guard, but this was independent from the federal government. The drop in numbers and low morale in the Army led to high U.S. casualties during the Spanish-American War (1898) and the Philippines insur- rection (1899–1902).

D efending the G round : T he A rmy

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